NCD finish on top in boxing

By HENRY MORABANG, ISAAC LIRI and LARRY ANDREW
THE National Capital District finished on top in boxing with five gold medals, two silver and three bronze ahead of archrivals Bougainville at the PNG Games in Kimbe, West New Britain.
AROB finished second with four gold and five silver medals, closely followed by Central in third spot with four gold, one silver and four bronze medals at the conclusion of the three-day competition staged at the Kimbe Secondary School hall.
Sports competition manager Dick Larry said NCD won two gold medals in the women’s competition and three gold in the men’s competition to push them ahead of Bougainville.
NCD women Atoinette Loga (54kg) and Kila Dobu (57kg) won gold while Jamie Chan (53kg), Warren Warupi (69kg) and Michael Miria (75kg) won their finals.
Larry said the finals were closely fought but NCD fighters showed enough technique to earn wins in competitive bouts.
AROB fighters also had success with their experience and skills on show.
Larry said he was impressed with the fighters especially from Morobe, AROB, NCD and Central and said there was more to be done in coaching for other provinces.
He said fighters from West Sepik, Madang and the Highlands needed to improve their knowledge of boxing fundamentals.
“It was a little disappointing that teams from the Highlands cannot distinguish boxing from kickboxing which caused some confusion among boxers and technical officials, however we managed to sort things out by clarifying the rules.”
Larry said despite the confusion with the rules by some teams, the other challenges his competition faced was the poor lighting and ventilation of the venue although he commended all teams for their cooperation and understanding.
Larry said more needed to be done for boxing to at the provincial and district level with coaching and refereeing.